US commandos joined Kurdish troops in the raid that freed Iraqi captives — and claimed the life of a Delta Force soldier — after officials learned that graves had been dug for the prisoners, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Friday. Noting the US troops' role was only to "advise and assist," Carter said the initial plan was not for them to enter the ISIS-held prison compound near the town of Hawija or take part in any firefight. But, he added, "This is combat. Things are complicated." Carter said the freed hostages recounted their experiences, adding that "we could see" graves next to the compound. He said more raids targeting ISIS were likely. "One of the reasons for that is that you learn a great deal because you collect the documentation, you collect various electronic equipment and so forth," he said. Master Sgt. Joshua Wheeler, 39, a father of four from Oklahoma, became the first US soldier to die in combat against ISIS in Iraq since the United States withdrew its forces from the country in 2011. Carter said Wheeler heroically rushed into a gunfight to defend his Kurdish partners even though the plan called for the Kurds to do the fighting on their own. "When a firefight ensued, this American did what I'm very proud Americans do in that situation — he ran to the sound of gunfire," he said. His body is being returned to the United States on Saturday. Wheeler, of Roland, had been assigned to the Army Special Operations Command in Fort Bragg, NC, the Pentagon said. He joined the military in 1995 as an infantryman in Company C, 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment in Fort Lewis, Wash., and later moved to the famed 75th Ranger Regiment, where he served as an infantryman, rifle-team leader, squad leader, weapons-squad leader and anti-tank section leader. He deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq three times with the Rangers. In 2004, he joined the Special Operations Command and was deployed 11 more times to Iraq and Afghanistan, officials said. Sen. Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma praised Wheeler's "bravery and sacrifice" in a statement. "While the administration declared an official end to our combat mission in Iraq in 2010, Oklahomans and our nation are reminded today that combat is still a reality for our all-volunteer force serving in the Middle East," it read. Thursday's raid was launched as the captives were said to be facing imminent execution. Those rescued — the number was revised to 69 Friday — were all Arabs, including locals and ISIS fighters held as suspected spies, a US official said. About 20 were members of Iraqi security forces. More than 20 ISIS thugs were killed and six detained, officials said.
